Skaters join together to raise money for Troy teen battling infection

Stacy Bishop (left) of Birmingham, manager of Pogo Skate Shop, hosted an event for Daniel Ripper of Troy, who is recovering from a life-threatening infection. He is pictured with his mother, Michelle Ripper. ELIZABETH CRENSAW / Special to The Oakland Press

Stacy Bishop, who is manager of Pogo Skate Shop, with Daniel Ripper of Troy, hosted the event.

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All money raised goes to help Ripper, 18, through his recovery from a life-threatening infection.

Ripper has defied many odds in his battle with MRSA, an infection that is caused by a strain of staph bacteria that become resistant to normal antibiotics.

He is now almost blind, losing his vision after being stricken two years ago, when a sophomore Birmingham Seaholm High School.

The MRSA led to two hip operations, an open-heart surgery, and a three-month hospital stay. But he has proven many doctors wrong, when they thought he would never walk or talk again or even survive.

After the long hospital stays, Ripper quickly found skateboarding passed the time away. Skateboarding kept him positive through the ordeal.

Learning to skateboard wasn’t an easy journey.

Often, he fell. Standing on the board was practically impossible, but he found his balance and learned to skate with ease.

A friendship with Nick Mullins, a Traverse City native who lost his dreams of professional skateboarding career due to a similar MRSA infection, helped him as well. The two met each other through Facebook.

Ripper was a regular customer at Pogo Skate Shop, owned by Bishop’s two brothers, Jake and Adam Soles. There, his story touched the lives of many including Bishop.

Home to skateboards and “Fresh Sneaks,” Pogo brought Bishop and Ripper together.

That led to the creation of Breaking Laces, named for all of the laces skateboarders break, was born.

“Daniel’s struggles are close to home”, said Bishop. “He is a remarkable young man who is adamant to win. He constantly came into the shop to buy things throughout his illness, and his will to better his skateboarding throughout his challenging health issue is truly amazing.”

Bishop’s younger brother, Chad, also endured MRSA in 2012, losing his arm. She knew what Ripper was going through and wanted to help.

“Daniel is so incredible,” Daniel’s mother, Michelle Riper, said. “He constantly amazes me by his willpower and fight to never give up.”

Currently taking classes, he hopes one day to open his own skatepark to share his favorite activity.

“Keep your head up and never let yourself get down,” Daniel Ripper said. “It is the worst thing you can do. Skateboarding has given me the strength to keep fighting and believing in me. I am truly blessed to have the support of the community. It means a lot.”